VaYigash 5779​

"The Character of Judah: A Great Mistake and Taking Responsibility""The portions we read in previous Shabbatot on the story of Joseph and his brothers reach a climax in this Parashah. To the readers at the synagogue, there is nothing like the tension that was built on the previous Shabbat, when the previous Parashah ends with Joseph's words: 'But he replied, "Far be it from me to act thus! Only he in whose possession the goblet was found shall be my slave; the rest of you go back in peace to your father"' (Genesis 44:17, NJPS translation). Benjamin will remain a slave in Egypt with me and you will return to your father, in Canaan.

"For a whole week we wait anxiously for the reading of Parashat Vayigash, in which the personality and actions of one of Joseph's brothers is revealed. The brother who offered to sell Joseph to Egypt, the same brother who pledges himself so that Benjamin could return to his father Jacob, the same brother whose two sons died... It is about Judah: 'Then Judah went up to him and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant appeal to my lord, and do not be impatient with your servant... Now, if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—since his own life is so bound up with his when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will send the white head of your servant our father down to Sheol in grief. Now your servant has pledged himself for the boy to my father, saying, "If I do not bring him back to you, I shall stand guilty before my father forever." Therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers.' (Genesis 44:18,30-1, NJPS translation).

"Judah takes responsibility. Judah approached Joseph and spoke to his heart. Judah wants to exchange between himself and Benjamin, and to be himself a slave to Joseph, thereby freeing Benjamin to return to his father. In this he seeks to correct what he had done twenty-two years earlier, when he took part in the sale of Joseph and in presenting the striped coat that had been dipped with blood in front of his father: 'They had the ornamented coat taken to their father, and they said, "We found this. Please examine it; is it your son’s coat or not?" He recognized it, and said, "My son’s coat! A savage beast devoured him! Joseph was torn by a beast!"' (Genesis 37:32-3, adapted from NJPS translation).

"After Judah's appeal to Joseph, Joseph is reveals himself to his brothers, and immediately asks, 'Is my father still well?' (Genesis 45:1, NJPS translation), Joseph sends his brother with great possessions to bring his father to Egypt. The Torah attributes importance to the wagons that Joseph sent together with his brothers. Only when Jacob sees the wagons which Joseph sent, does he believe that Joseph is alive:

"'They went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. And they told him, "Joseph is still alive; yes, he is ruler over the whole land of Egypt." His heart went numb, for he did not believe them. But when they recounted all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. "Enough!" said Israel. "My son Joseph is still alive! I must go and see him before I die"' (Genesis 45:25-8, NJPS translation).

"Rashi comments, 'As evidence that it was Joseph who was sending this message he had informed them of the religious subject he had been studying with his father at the time when he left him, viz., the section of the Heifer¹.' Rashi is saying that when Joseph sent the wagons (עגלות - ‘Agalot), it reminded Jacob of what they were learning when one was separated from the other, and that is the Heifer (עגלה - ‘Eglah).

"The commandment of the "Heifer" is performed when the body of a man who was murdered between two cities is found, and the murderer is not found, as described in Deuteronomy 21:

"'If, in the land that the LORD your God is assigning you to possess, someone slain is found lying in the open, the identity of the slayer not being known, your elders and magistrates shall go out and measure the distances from the corpse to the nearby towns... And the elders of that town shall bring the heifer down to an everflowing wadi, which is not tilled or sown. There, in the wadi, they shall break the heifer’s neck.' The priests, sons of Levi, shall come forward... Then all the elders of the town nearest to the corpse shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the wadi. And they shall make this declaration: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done...' (Deuteronomy 21:1-2,4-7, NJPS translation).

"When a person who was murdered near the city is found, and no murderer is found, the community that lives near the event does not pass it by silence. Even though the murderer was not found, the priests and the elders of the city come and perform a ceremony during which they break the head of the heifer and say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood...' The Sages explain that the elders of the city was supposed to take care of the murdered's food and accompany them, and because they did not do so, they were murdered.

"This ceremony is at its core a ceremony of taking responsibility. Taking responsibility for the atmosphere in that city. After all the people of the city see the elders of the city say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood...' everyone returns to their homes and ponders those words. Did our hands not spill this blood? Could have we taken notice the distress of the person walking around our town, and we did not take notice of it? Were we we not sensitive enough to those in our city who were looking for a place to eat and a place to sleep? The ceremony will not revive the dead, but will lead the people of the city to thoughts and actions, which will prevent the next murder. This is acceptance of responsibility.

"Joseph sends the 'wagons' to Jacob and in fact hints to him - taking responsibility. In the twenty-two years when you thought I was dead, when you were presented with the bleeding ornamented coat, the thought of 'Our hands did not shed this blood...' began to brew... Judah has been pondering this for years, did our hands really not spill the blood? In the case in VaYigash, Judah takes responsibility. He will not let another of his brothers be sold to Egypt, the realization that the great responsibility had been on his shoulders long since they lied to their father that a savage animal devoured Joseph.

"The image of Judah is amazing to me. A person who admits a mistake. A person who takes responsibility. A person willing to learn from his mistake. A person willing to pay the price for his mistake and to commit himself to slavery instead of his brother.

"We who are born to see a world in which animals are suffering from birth to the moment of their death, can we really say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood...'? I do not mean the process of slaughter itself, but all the processes that precede the moment of death of animals. Can not we identify where our hand is in the process of animal abuse, from the grinding of male chicks in the egg industry, the separation of a calf from its mother in the dairy industry, the living conditions of a prisoner in solitary confinement for broiler chickens and an egg farm? And if at the end of the day, these animals end up on our plates, do not we have the responsibility to ensure that they are not abused nor violate [the Biblical commandment to avoid causing] distress to animals? Does not our hand shed that blood when it pays for the abused product? Is not this support for the continuation of animal abuse?

"I wish we would learn from Judah. To admit a mistake. to take responsibility. Learn from our mistakes. To try to change."

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¹ The Hebrew word for "Heifer" and "wagon" look and sound very similar.

SHAMAYIM: Jewish Animal Advocacy is a Jewish animal welfare organization that educates leaders, trains advocates, and leads campaigns for the ethical treatment of animals. Contact us at info@shamayimvaretz.org